1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a thin film transistor using an oxide semiconductor as an active layer, a method of manufacturing the same, and a flat panel display device having the same. More particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to a thin film transistor having an interfacial stability layer formed on one surface or both surfaces of an active layer, a method of manufacturing the same, and a flat panel display device having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a thin film transistor (TFT) includes an active layer providing channel, source and drain regions, and a gate electrode formed on the channel region and electrically isolated from the active layer by a gate insulating layer.
The active layer of the TFT configured as described above is generally formed of a semiconductor material such as amorphous silicon or poly-silicon. However, if the active layer is formed of amorphous silicon, mobility is low, and therefore, it is difficult to operate a driving circuit at a high speed. If the active layer is formed of poly-silicon, mobility is high while a threshold voltage is not uniform. Therefore, a separate compensation circuit should be added.
Since a conventional method of manufacturing a TFT using low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) involves a high-cost process, such as laser heat treatment, equipment investment and management costs are high, and it is difficult to apply the conventional method to a large-sized substrate.
In order to solve such a problem, studies on an oxide semiconductor used as an active layer have recently been conducted.
A TFT using a zinc oxide (ZnO) or oxide semiconductor having ZnO as a main component as an active layer has been disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Publication No. 2004-273614.
The oxide semiconductor having ZnO as a main component is estimated to be a stable material because of its amorphous state and high mobility. If such an oxide semiconductor is used as an active layer, a TFT can be manufactured using a conventional equipment without additionally purchasing separate processing equipment. The oxide semiconductor is deposited at a low temperature, and ion implantation is not required. Further, the oxide semiconductor is deposited using a sputtering method. Therefore, the oxide semiconductor can be applied to a large-sized substrate.
However, since a TFT using an oxide semiconductor as an active layer has electrical characteristics that are easily changed depending on structures of the TFT and processing conditions, reliability may be lowered. Particularly, when the TFT is driven by constant-voltage or constant-current, a threshold voltage is changed in a positive (+) direction depending on time. It is estimated that such a phenomenon is caused by charge trapping due to the deterioration of an interface between an active layer and an insulating layer, or an active layer and a passivation layer.